Among the exciting unveiling of new tech and brand innovations at the international Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas was optimistic resolve from Music Branding Executive, Devin Gibson. Gibson, whose had oscillating relations with major labels in the past including Universal Music [http://celebdiceria.com/music-video-director-author-devin-gibson-breaks-his-silenceover-controversial-book-release-exclusive-interview/] , expressed again his support of independent workers and the new ways corporations will market incoming material. At the conference Gibson cited the notable increase of independent musicians hired by labels, as well as the dwarfing numbers of physical/download purchases versus it’s revenue giant streaming platforms.

The findings determined by the US bureau of labor statistics marked Independent musicians as the new employment majority, beating label employed musicians by over 1,800 reports in 2012. “Compared to the mere 300 mark Independent musicians held in 2003, not only has job growth doubled for us, it’s being outsourced. Business collaboration is the next move for major labels and it will bring music to the forefront and benefit everyone.” Gibson attributed the success of music streaming platforms and future music -tech startups to Independent musicians as well claiming “The new investing subculture is rising for music related startups, individuals and major labels are all in the market for the same things now, everyone wants new ideas and ways to interact with the product.

The window of the opportunity is wide open and will bring so many new applications that our future generations will not know how we lived without.” Some companies involved have concluded similarly, Mood Media [http://www.moodmedia.com/news-company-single/1038/24/11/2014/Mood-Media-andShazam-Announce-Shazam-In-Store-Mobile-Marketing-Solution%5D] CEO described the move to partner with active global music app Shazam as a success citing “Proprietary apps for mobile devices are expensive to develop and are often underutilized by customers, but Shazam’s massive user base allows businesses to benefit from a high probability of connecting with customers through that platform.” The marketing solution’s currently implemented across storefronts worldwide including US major chain supplier, Office Depot.

“Bottom line is the opportunity for growth has not limited itself to music and tech, advancements within both have opened another route for advertisement, arguably the most profitable contender in Entertainment right now.” Gibson noted to a crowd of developers and venture capitalists attending the event. The controversial Brand Advisor did manage to stir conflicted feelings on his position, one developer from a San Francisco startup, summing up his comments as “dismissive” on the relevance of physical media. “Looking at the response to vinyl 1 I’d say fans still want physical ownership. To feel and hold the media in their hands, it’s not dead yet.” Also adding, “people hate ads.”

On another end, CEOs of Sony and Universal {shared similar disdain} [http://qz.com/360002/the-music-industry-is-going-to-fight-the-internet-againand-its-probably-going-to-lose/] towards further alliance between music and advertisement. In reference towards ad funded “free” subscription streaming sites like Spotify, Sony Music CEO Doug Morris said to music industry outlet Hits Daily Double “I equate “Free” with the decline of the music business.” Universal music’s CEO Lucian Grainge following with a statement to Re/Code “Ad-funded on-demand is not going to sustain the entire ecosystem of the creators as well as the investors.”

In correspondence leaked to The New York Post Spotify reportedly will pay 1 billion dollars in ad revenue, royalties, and subscription profits to Universal Music in addition to pretax earnings the label will receive as a stake owner of the platform. Despite the progress, the question of Spotify’s stability remains a topic of debate as well as music–tech-advertising mergers following Apple and Beats’ launch of Apple Music, and Google’s acquirement of Youtube. The musicadvertising-tech mergers have shown significant increase and demand between the industries however, the longevity of any of the ventures are still too early to predict. Spotify’s VP of Product Shiva Rajaraman recently praised [http://www.spin.com/2015/10/future-of-musicspotify-bose-record-store-day/] a partnership with Playstation and pending negotiations with Uber. “I think one of the things we’re really embracing now is the idea that music is ambient, and therefore can be a companion for many many experiences.”

A Spotify music discovery solution on coffee franchise Starbucks’ mobile app has also surfaced just earlier this week. Despite controversy among peers Gibson remains optimistic over the highly publicized music industry crisis closing “Music is moving further from being a cd and a poster, we can mix and merge it to other industries and engage with listeners more than ever. That’s the beauty of struggle, it opens our eyes to the same windows of opportunity we simply failed to take notice of before.”